49ers quarterbacks have a history of playing well after benchings

It doesn’t sound as if 49ers coach Jim Tomsula wants to give up on Colin Kaepernick this season. Maybe he just wants him to step away, contemplate his fate, watch the game, and regain his confidence.

Part of the issue with Kaepernick was his inability to take the game plan from the week of practice and apply it on Sunday. Once the game dawned, Kaepernick’s mind went blank. Now it will be on Blaine Gabbert to see if he can carry over in-week practices to the game on Sunday.

How much will Blaine Gabbert benefit from his time on the bench?

As far as Kaepernick’s respite, it has worked for 49ers quarterbacks before. In 1999, starter Steve Young was infamously hit by Aeneas Williams in Arizona after Lawrence Phillips failed to block Williams on a blitz. Young’s head bounced off the thigh of guard Dave Fiore, which instantly knocked him out. Young never played again.

So 29-year-old rookie Jeff Garcia, fresh from a Grey Cup Championship with the Calgary Stampeders, was installed as the starter and he struggled. Garcia won his first game, beating Tenessee 24-22, then the 49ers lost 9 of their last 10 games to finished 4-12. In the middle of the losing, Garcia was benched in favor of former Stanford quarterback Steve Stenstrom. When Stenstrom faltered, Garcia was re-inserted as the starter, and he finished the season throwing eight touchdown passes and two interceptions.

In 2000, Garcia won the starting job and threw 31 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions and made the Pro Bowl.

Similarly, a struggling Alex Smith was benched in Mike Singletary’s last season (2010) in favor of Troy Smith. Smith sat for six games and then came back for the last four, in which he threw five touchdown passes and one interception. During those four games, Smith registered a passer rating over 100 twice and had only one game when his rating dipped below 91.

When Smith was asked how Jim Harbaugh influenced him, he referred to the good end of the 2010 season as a time when the light switch turned on for him.
However, we should also consider that Gabbert might be the one where the switch turns on after backing up for the last season and a half.

“When I got to the league as a 21-year-old, you haven’t really seen anything,” Gabbert said Wednesday. “And going into my fifth year, just the experiences that I’ve had preparing for games, playing in games, starting games, being a back up quarterback- it’s valuable over time to have those repetitions in practice and on the game field.”
The 49ers will see which quarterback benefits the most from their time on the bench.

Who do you think will finish the season at quarterback – Blaine Gabbert, Colin Kaepernick or maybe practice squad quarterback Dylan Thompson?

Notes from Wednesday: The 49ers put Reggie Bush on injured reserve after he underwent surgery to repair the medial collateral ligament in his knee. Rookie running back Mike Davis also had surgery to repair a broken hand, and special teams standout L.J. McCray had cartiledge in his knee surgically repaired. No word on whether Davis or McCray will be back this season. There are also rumors that running back Carlos Hyde will need four to six weeks to rest on a hairline fracture in his foot. Center Daniel Kilgore said he will likely start practicing after the bye week. Playing in the Nov. 22 game in Seattle is a goal Kilgore said. More likely would be Nov. 29 home game against Arizona if then. … The 49ers have signed veteran free agent running backs Shaun Draughn and Pierre Thomas making you believe the rumors about Hyde are true.